Monster Hunter World Behemoth Guide: everything you need to know about the FF14 collaboration event

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Back in June, Capcom and Square Enix revealed that the two companies would collaborate for Final Fantasy XIV and Monster Hunter: World. Rathalos would invade Eorzea as a Trial, and Behemoth would face off against brave hunters in Monster Hunter: World. Monster Hunter's side of the collaboration has now officially launched with Title Update 5.0!

Players who have downloaded this latest patch now have access to the Special Assignments that eventually unlock Behemoth's optional quests, but how does he stand out compared to other monsters, considering his FFXIV roots? As always, we took to the hunt to see how she slots into the ongoing Monster Hunter: World experience.

What's new in the Behemoth Update
Much like with Deviljho's launch back in March, and Lunastra's launch back at the end of May - Behemoth's launch coincides with a large supply of new content. Behemoth brings a few new endemic life to the table, a new weapon, and a new set of armor for both male and female hunters. Here's all of what you can expect;

A new, FFXIV Dragoon inspired Insect Glaive weapon. Unlike previously added DLC monsters, this is the only weapon players can expect to craft from Behemoth parts.
New armor sets for both the male and female hunter. Unlike the other High Rank armor sets, the Behemoth set does NOT include an Alpha and Beta set. Instead, players only have access to one Dragoon-themed armor set, for both genders.
Behemoth includes his own specific side quest, which requires players to have already unlocked their Hunter Rank for the first time, and then speak with the Serious Handler. After taking on a Kulu-Ya-Ku holding an Aetheryte Crystal in the Wildspire Wastes, you'll be tasked with a quest to drive away the Behemoth from the Elder's Recess. Completing this objective will award players with the final Special Assignment tasking players to properly hunt down the Behemoth. Once completed, players will then be able to hunt Behemoth in his own optional quests.
How to Find Behemoth / Unlock His Special Assignment
Behemoth is now available to anyone hunting that have already cleared the games final hunt - Xeno'jiiva - and have unlocked their HR at least once. As mentioned in the last section, players will be tasked with several special assignments before being granted the ability to hunt Behemoth freely:

After reaching Hunter Rank 16 or above by hunting Xeno'jiiva, talk to the Serious Handler to receive the Special Assignment "A Visitor from Another World" - a hunt against a constantly growing Kulu-Ya-Ku with a crystal that both prevents status ailments and occasionally heals him in the Wildspire Waste. During the quest, players will meet a Moogle who has lost his way home back to Eorzea. Watch your head, because this Kulu-Ya-Ku dishes out some surprising damage!
Upon completion of the Special Assignment, speak to the Serious Handler to be alerted to the commotion around your new white furry friend. You'll automatically be warped to a small discussion with your new moogle pal to receive the next Special Assignment, "The Legendary Beast". This tasks you with dealing enough damage to the Behemoth within the Elder's Recess to repel it within the allotted time.
Finally, you'll be teleported to one final discussion, and then receive the last Special Assignment, "He Taketh It with His Eyes" - finally, you're tasked with hunting the Behemoth in the Elder's Recess
Once completed, players gain access to Behemoth's optional quest "A Visitor from Eorzea".

Battle Tips for Behemoth
Behemoth's hunt is like nothing else in Monster Hunter: World, sharing a lot of its mechanics with the Behemoth fight in Final Fantasy XIV. Not only will players have to learn to avoid one-hit KO's from his Ecliptic Meteor by hiding behind comets left over on the field, but you'll also have to contend with Tornadoes, Lightning, regular meteors, and it's even greatly recommended that a hunter takes up the role as a "tank" to focus the monster's attack on him or herself. Enmity comes to Monster Hunter: World for Behemoth's fight, as well.

First things first - learn your mechanics. Behemoth's attacks target a wide area around him unless someone has captured his attention, which is why Enmity is so important in this fight. Stop thinking of fighting Behemoth like a regular monster, as it's better to think of him as an FFXIV Trial dropped right into Monster Hunter: World. Before heading into battle, designate someone as the tank and have them target the head of the monster in order to draw Enmity.
Second, partway through the fight Behemoth will summon Comets that will embed themselves in the arena surrounding him. FFXIV veterans probably know what comes next, but it is absolutely vital that everyone in your party hides behind a comet when Behemoth calls his Ecliptic Meteor. Even Hunters currently at the base camp will be killed once this Meteor strikes unless they can either hide behind a comet or time the "Final Fantasy XIV Jump" gesture correctly. Once Behemoth casts Ecliptic Meteor, all items are locked from use until it has reached impact.
Behemoth will always cast Ecliptic Meteor upon the killing blow! Be ready to avoid it once the quest is "complete".
Even outside of Ecliptic Meteor, Behemoth hits like a truck. It's my belief he should've had an HR50 requirement instead of HR16 - if you don't have strong enough armor, you're liable to get killed by a stray attack. Make sure to augment your armor before facing him, or you'll regret it.
Finally, make especially sure to bring lifepowders. Treat this fight almost like a raid in an MMO - because that's essentially what it is. You only have 3 lives, make sure you do all you can to prevent someone from dying.
Behemoth is, unsurprisingly, a completely different sort of beast compared to the ones you might be used to hunting. If all of the Final Fantasy XIV flairs, such as Enmity, quests starting with "Duty Commenced", and Behemoth even replacing the damage numbers with those from FFXIV weren't enough to make it obvious - players are expected to treat the quest like a Trial from FFXIV. I expect players that already have some experience with FFXIV will have a much easier time tackling Behemoth than those that haven't already accustomed themselves to MMO mechanics.

A Note About Behemoth
Behemoth, like Deviljho and Lunastra, is added directly into the existing Monster Hunter: World High Rank experience despite its initial Hunter Rank 16 requirements. However, unlike those two fights - his unique mechanics and extreme damage-dealing potential might make him a challenge to fight, even if you've become accustomed to hunting Tempered Monsters. However, it's debatable how worth it would be to continue hunting Behemoth after you've crafted his armor set. Since there's only 1 weapon to craft from his parts, outside of the novelty there doesn't seem to be much reason to hunt him more than a few times.

That's not to say that the new FFXIV collaboration content is less substantial than what's been added in the past. Even if I have some issues with Behemoth personally - I don't think he should kill anyone that's currently in the camp with Ecliptic Meteor! - the novelty of the whole encounter makes up for the rest of those issues. Capcom has done a great job supporting Monster Hunter: World past its launch, and it will be exciting to see what new monsters the company might have up their sleeves for future updates.

Monster Hunter World Behemoth Armor
Defeating Behemoth several times will allow you to craft its armor in Monster Hunter World's armory, since completing the Behemoth battles provides the materials you need to craft the Gae Bolg Insect Glaive and Dragon Soul Kinsect - weapons inspired by the iconic spears of Dragoon Knights in the worlds of Final Fantasy and FF14 specifically. You'll also get the Drachen Alpha armor set, which is also styled after FF's iconic Dragoons.

Here's the rub, anyway: the Monster Hunter World Behemoth armor set is a really good armor set. It has great skills that'll come in handy in mixed sets and work well with most weapons in the game.

There are two set bonuses for the Behemoth Drachen Alpha armor set, nicknamed Soul of the Dragon - appropriate for a dragoon:

Elemental Airborne - elemental damage increased for jumping attacks
Master's Touch - prevents your weapon from losing sharpness during critical hits
There's also a few other skills:

Critical Eye Level 6 (affinity boost)
Attack Boost Level 3
Critical Boost